Why Panasonic UB9000's HDR Optimiser is Such A Killer Feature

[@hdtvtest]

Note: [HDR Optimiser] can only be applied to HDR10 & HLG content, and not to HDR10+ & Dolby Vision discs which already benefit from dynamic metadata.

[@marcorasero6003]

HDTVTest And Oppo udp 203 vs Panasonic UB9000 ??

[@DrCrYz]

Please consider doing some work on which TV's are best for use with a gaming PC. For example TVs with real 10bit panels and not 8 with frc, what settings to use in the PC with nvidia colour modes RGB, 444, 422 etc and if any TV's support adaptive sync that is compatible with gsync or any smart tvs with display ports. There is such a lack of info out there. Thanks for your great content.

[@mattgiunt]

So the Optimiser has no effect on regular Blu ray or sd dvds? Does it have any use with a Netflix app on the UB 9000 if it is displaying 4K material?

[@tldrMac]

Dy-namic meta-data

[@tldrMac]

Can they update the xbox one x to do the same?

[@Boyer316]

I know this is an old video but I just got myself an 820 and the difference between it and the X700 and PS5 I was using is staggering.

[@dj_houdini7766]

Thanks for the review, I am thinking of upgrading from my X700 as well after getting a QN90B since Sony doesn't process HDR10+. With most 4k movies with Dolby Vision only, I think the HDR Optimizer could be very valuable with a Samsung display.

[@kevinselzer1669]

same as well

[@asafblasbergvideographer]

@@dj_houdini7766 Keep in mind HDR Optimizer does not support Dolby Vision, so you will need the TV to do the tone mapping.

[@davidobutt]

This is the best explanation of hdr tone mapping you will ever see

[@richrams4683]

This guy is amazing, he reveals all issues from new tech that i would spot and the average retail seller would not.

[@stugtodd2778]

It's very good.

[@JayJay-jx3zg]

Um, we love shenanigans. Please do not deprive us of such ongoings in the future.

[@Androidonator]

He made his entire house into a dungeon except for the wall he films this. Sex dungeon.

[@reggietelly]

Shenanigans is an underused word. I approve of it’s use here

[@niro750]

@@reggietelly like when I was working in India, they kept saying 'no Hankey pankey' which had me in stitches.

[@UltrafineDeluxe]

@@Androidonator Dweeb.

[@Monster-Abee]

Just revisiting this excellent video after playing with the settings on my LG CX and the UB820. It's true that the Panasonic optimizer even now in 2021 has better handling of tone mapping on HDR10 than the LG CX in my experience. I turned off the dynamic tone mapping on the CX and enabled the optimizer on the UB820 and got fantastic results. Thanks Vincent for an excellent video.

[@ChrisDaytrader]

I love the optimizer, and i am using cinema home hdr pre-set on my cx, but i find it looks better with dynamic tone mapping on, on my cx, when i disable it, the whole scene darkens, or is that how it should be ?

[@davycarr7026]

A brilliant explanation of how the Panasonic works and the benefits of tweaking settings on both the TV and the player to get the best experience Please keep posting, very informative

[@BRIANSTECHTHERAPY]

Absolutely criminal that you don't have more subs and views especially on vids like this! Great job as always!

[@ericlanglais]

Thanks so much for this video! I have an Optoma projector and a Sony X700 player and had been contemplating on buying the 420 or 820 only because of the optimizer. You saved me a few headaches by indicating that those options for projectors are only on the 9000.

[@BizkitBoy86]

Thanks for another informative video, Vincent! The auto dynamic tonemapping done by the player is indeed awesome, it's really amazing how it manages to analyze the picture and tonemap only what needs to be tonemapped from each frame without touching the overall APL. Panasonic strikes again! Now comes the million dollar question: will we see this killer feature within the Panasonic OLED's menu? I'm mainly interested in the 2019 range but I'm sure others will like to know if previous models may receive a software update including this feature.

[@RedBird77]

This was so helpful. Ordered 820 today. Thanks for the video.

[@nyquil07na38]

I am playing around with this and to be honest this tone mapping looks better than DV. Will continue to play around with it.

[@sPi711]

Got to respect a man who prefers to keep his "shenanigans" on the down low.

[@dylanb2443]

Do I turn off HDR tone mapping on my LGC1 when using this player ? Since it tone maps itself

[@dudesuppenkopf8047]

Another question: Does this function do anything on Panasonic OLEDs? Theoretically player and TV should apply Panasonic tonemapping and there shouldn‘t be a difference, right?

[@claymore7970]

This video is 4 years old, but now OLED TV's (MLA and QD OLED) have higher than 1k peak brightness. Mine in particular has around 1200-1250, so I'm not sure what TV type to choose on the player settings, since OLED will cap it to 1000, and super high luminance LCD is 1500 which is too high and causes clipping. I wish the setting would just let me manually put a nit value in.

[@coyley72]

Great video, thanks. Question: if you enable HDR Optimiser will it remain on at all times, even when changing disc? Or do I need to enable it each time I watch a disc?

[@MovieViking]

Awesome, competent and straightforward demo and explanation!

[@marcevans6913]

I saw a few people ask whether to use the HDR Optimiser along with the TV's HDR Dynamic Tone Mapping and from my experience with a LG C9 the answer is yes. Took the time to test using Fury Road with the Dynamic Tone Mapping on/off and on scenes that have brightness that exceeded the OLED limit (1000 nits), the Optimiser reigned it in to the 1000 nits and brought out more details in those bright areas. It did not affect the rest of the tones whether the rest of the scene was bright or dark. With the Optimiser off, the Dynamic Tone Mapping would darken the entire scene including the shadows to try and achieve this and still not bring as much detail as the Optimiser in the bright area. However with the Optimiser on bring the brights to the set limit (1000 nits in my case) and the Dynamic Tone Mapping set to on, it will map the rest of the scene, lightening as needed giving a brighter picture with more shadow detail since it reads that the scene is within the 1000 nits (so no darkening needed for the highlights) and it does a good job doing so IMO. I am using the UB-820. A great player because of this feature IMO. HTH and a BIG thank you for this video. Really helped me get the most out of my setup.

[@PUsokrJosh305]

I also have both the Dynamic Tone Mapping function on my C9 and my Panasonic 820's Optimizer set to "On". However, I have set it to Super High Luminance. This is due to the fact that I think the LG C9's tone mapping is very good and can tone map up to 1500 nits and sometimes higher. Sadly, the Panasonic's Optimizer is limited to 1500. I would love for them to update it so we can set it to as close to what the TV set can do as possible. I think the C9 is capable of tone mapping close to 2,000 nits.

[@marcevans6913]

@@PUsokrJosh305 that hasn't been my experience. C9 tone mapping does very well at giving a bright overall image, not so when it has to deal with brights above its nit limit. It tends to dim the entire scene. If you are setting the 820 to 1500 nits, then there really is no benefit to have the optimizer on. The C9 tone mapping will be doing all the work. Should look no different if you switch the optimizer off.

[@PUsokrJosh305]

@@marcevans6913: I would take a look at it again. The Optimizer is still doing work, even set at 1500 nits. Just because the OLED setting is at 1,000 nits doesn’t mean that the LG C9 can tone map above that. In fact, I find it tone mapping really well up till you get between 1,500-2,000 nits. Look at The Shining for example. When I set the Optimizer to 1,000 nits, I feel like the movie is overall too bright, especially for the Shining. But when I set it to 1,500 nits, the movie seems to look much better and much more like it should. Same thing with Harry Potter. The 5th movie has a battle between Voldemort and Dumbledore. When I set the optimizer to OLED (1,000 nits), the spells seem to have gradiation of color that seems very uneven. But, when set to Super High Luminance (1,500), the spells seem more smoothed out and much more even. Now for Disney films, you won’t see any change no matter if you set it at 1,000 nits or 1,500 because the movies are graded at or below 1,000 nits. Meaning, the TV does all of the work.

[@marcevans6913]

@@PUsokrJosh305 the shinning has Dolby vision though, so the optimizer wouldn't have any effect unless you disabled Dolby vision on the 820. I'll give the 1500 nits a try, to see Iif I see a difference and if I do, if I like it.

[@PUsokrJosh305]

@@marcevans6913: Yeah, I have Dolby Vision disabled, which allows me to look at The Shining in HDR with the Optimizer. Again, if you have HP 5 on 4K, that scene is a great one to look at the difference between 1,000 nits and 1,500 nits. The Max LL is at 1,135 nits on HP 5. I just feel as though the center "core" of the spells that Voldemort and Dumbledore are casting are way too blown out of proportion when set to 1,000 nits (OLED) vs. 1,500 nits.

[@peace4myheart]

But I, for one, want to see all the shenanigans in your room

[@rickgear2579]

Looks great. I hope Panasonic returns to the US market.

[@blurayffan66]

afaik this Panasonic player is available from Value Electronics in the US and BestBuy (Magnolia) carries the step down 820 model.

[@M1H4D]

@@blurayffan66 If I may ask.. I just bought the Samsung Q900R 8k TV and am looking at the DP-UB820.. what is the downside of it from the UB9000? I don't know the difference.. also the 8k has peak brightness of 3k Nits

[@blurayffan66]

@@M1H4D I don't actually own either player I am afraid so unable to answer your question.

[@jasonbuxton1260]

Nicely explained. It makes a change for a feature to just work with the press of a button without degrading something else.

[@rayhjr3577]

I use the Optimizer on my 75q9fn, and yes there's a difference with 4000 nit content.

[@abu1950]

This is why I subscribe to this guy 12:15, look at the difference in the flames. I was about to buy a Sony UBP 700 yesterday as I have a Sony AG8 tv and StrDn 1080 receiver only to switch last minute to the Panasonic DP-UB820EBK. I can't wait for it to come now.

[@Avelinovski]

Excellent (and fun) explanation of a, indeed, killer feature. Actually, as the owner of an Epson EH-TW9300W, this was the final nudge I needed to buy this player. Cheers! :^)

[@Brecksvids]

I love your videos! I have a Calman Calibrated LG C9 and the UB820, should I be using HDR Optimiser on top of Dynamic Tone Mapping (included in the calibration)?

[@bogroll1881]

Thanks so much my panasonic 820 can now feed my new LG 810 projector 500 nits and now HDR is sorted really useful information thanks Vincent:)

[@Reallynotnick]

It sounds like it's only a killer feature for TVs with less than ideal tone mapping. Because in reality the TV itself should be able to do all of this and even better since it knows the exact limits of itself and you don't end up double tone mapping.

[@marcuscole8796]

Very true ... and you have a point here with the double tone mapping...

[@Lou14th]

So is it recommended to use the dynamic tone mapping setting on an OLED with the Panasonic hdr optimizer on or turn off the setting on the tv and just let the Panasonic take care of the mapping?

[@ulisescastrom]

Have the same dilemma

[@BassPunk]

The 2019 model DP-UB450 doesn't feature the HDR optimiser.

[@AstrumAnimal]

Did you try a firmware update ?

[@FredFartwind]

I would be interessted in some recommended settings with this player combined with LG OLED CX or C1. What must be turned off in the TV to not work against the player features? Thanks!

[@ChrisDaytrader]

would like to know this to.

[@methlokaijufan9729]

The colors are dull and washed out when I turn the HDR on . Why is this happening ? Panasonic DP-UB420 connected to a Philips 436M6 hdr monitor . Can someone please help me ?

[@Ianochez]

There is soo much to learn, you are explaining well... just wonder how your demos are in person

[@twosawyers]

Wow! This is impressive! Hopefully other manufacturers will follow process!

[@dickiefears5832]

Anyone know if the optimiser stays on when you've switched it on when playing an HDR disc or do you have to switch it on manually each time a new disc is loaded?

[@Burgergio]

Would definitely get a Panasonic OLED and player if they still sold in the US 😩

[@flos3599]

Why don't they?

[@samuraispiritsx]

They really need to start getting some standards for HDR content, it really is hit or miss for me; and pretty complicated to get it exactly the way I like it to look.

[@remicochi8310]

Wow... Thank you very much for this useful informations. You are the best !

[@matthewnguyen6961]

Thank you so much for this video.I have a 77 inch Sony a80j and just got the panny 820 yesterday.I think following your guidance here will give me a great viewing experience with my 4k uhd movies.Appreciate your videos and I just subscribed.

[@fbanget]

Cool video. I own the sony x950g. I believe the peak luminance of my tv is about 1250 nits. Should I set the player's "TV Type" setting to "Medium to High Luminance (1000 nits)" or "Super High Luminance (1500 nits)"?

[@aguanervioso3306]

Love your videos!!! I especially love the wagyu beef analogy. I remember the first time I had wagyu, it was Miyazaki. After eating that, I started comparing everything to the beef. “If I don’t buy this amp, how much wagyu could I get‽” 😂

[@Ocharles3148]

Thank you for this very interesting video. Would you recommend to activate the Tone mapping option on a LG C9 when watching TV or Netflix directly from the TV (it is clear that it must be disabled when watching bluray with the UB9000 or UB820). Thanks for your help !

[@MrLivemo]

Love my ub820, great player

[@myronhayes187]

Me too!

[@rayhjr3577]

The Panny 4k BD players are life savers for me. I can defeat the shadow crush on my Q9FN using the Panny slider. It's a huge difference.

[@losservatore2405]

Can the adjustment be done from their apps? Like vudu, Amazon and Netflix?

[@rayhjr3577]

@@losservatore2405 yep. The difference is HUGE with shadow detail on Netflix hdr programs. The built in tv apps will crush dark scene hdr really bad on Netflix. Although the Panny doesnt have Vudu.

[@rayhjr3577]

@@losservatore2405 as a matter of fact, someone on avs had their Q9FN calibrated by Chad B a few weeks ago and he had Chad try out +5 on the dynamic range slider and Chad was very surprised with the improvement it made to the picture.

[@losservatore2405]

ray H jr That's great to know. I probably get this player and skip for now to buy a whole new set. I'm waiting for a much higher peak oled. The new Qled looks really nice, you think is a worth upgrade from yours?

[@rayhjr3577]

@@losservatore2405 supposedly Panasonics top new oled has some special tech to allow higher peak brightness, curious to see what that measures at. I think the 2019 sets are probably better, and I need to keep an eye on them because I have to have warranty work done to my 75Q9, it needs a panel replacement and there's always a chance they just offer a new model or ask me to pay the difference to upgrade which in my case would only be about $1000. if they offer me to upgrade I would probably take it. newer is always better usually.

[@Geoff_Dearth]

It's a shame that the Optimiser induces some slight posterisation (which I noticed even when using the Optimiser with a 1000-nit UHD that didn't need tone mapping, i.e. the mapping itself didn't change but some banding was introduced) but then I can smooth it out with the Smooth Gradation on Low on my ZD9. For content that's been encoded well enough then it's slight enough not to notice, but for stuff that's already a bit more fragile e.g. the bright sky in the final shot of Exodus on UHD disc then it can make it look worse.

[@hometheaterman1424]

Hi HDTVTest under HDR Display Type on the Panasonic DP-820 I have a Samsung Q90R TV which would I select for my Qled tv?

[@AlleyKatPr0]

That Black Magic Camera makes a huge difference - shame KZbin is such lower quality!

[@hdtvtest]

Glad you could see a difference... we spent ages grading the footage! :-)

[@larsv6144]

Would it have this added value when used with a JVC NP5 (RS1100) projector With JVC’s great HDR?

[@kenestra123]

Should this be set on a 2024 Lg 65” C3 OLED?

[@tobygroves2112]

I'd like to see some tests with this on a 1500nit display as I suspect the benefits there will be far more subtle.

[@eofit3754]

Most movies don't put out more then 1000 or 1500 but if u put in sicaro that outputs 4000 and u turn optimizer on you will see it will optimize the image to 1500 whatever u tv can display and it will take away the blooming or overexposure that 4000 can produce if ur tv doesn't display

[@wildwhippet]

Never mind H D R Optimizer. bought a UB9000 recently & my jaw dropped in disbelief when I realized it isn't multi region!

[@Haydos]

You cant buy a region free player from the big name player makers. There is a reason they made them restricted in the first place. I don't see them fixing it. I think this is the last generation of players anyway. You should pay to mod it

[@DarkKnight-gw4gw]

Fantastic video. Very thorough and well-explained. I wonder, for TVs like the Sony X950H which only has player-led Dolby Vision, is the HDR optimizer on the Panasonic players the answer to get the very best DV possible out of discs? I currently have the Sony X800M2 player and I don’t think it has this type of feature.

[@remic2902]

Hello, one more question about video projectors and HDR optimizer please : is the “basic luminance lcd” option on the ub 820 (500 nits) is that much different from the “Basic luminance projector” (350 nits) on the 9000 ? Or will it be very subtle? Thanks again for your work and for your answer.

[@Anthony-ex6hq]

How does this feature work with the LG C7 active HDR? It’s my understanding that the C7 active HDR was a different approach than the current dynamic tone mapping found on the C8/C9. Would it be best to use both the hdr optimizer on the player and the active hdr setting on the C7?

[@antonionozzi4423]

I've just bought a Panasonic UB820 for my LG C9; should I use HDR optimizer by Panasnic, dynamic tone mapping by LG or both?

[@uceddiemo]

I have the same TV, LG C9 and the Panasonic UB820, should the LG optimizer turn on or off when using the optimizer in the UB820

[@miketg]

Turn dynamic tone mapping off for the LG and HDR Optimizer on for the Panasonic

[@marcevans6913]

I had posted this below based on my experience. Hope it helps: "I saw a few people ask whether to use the HDR Optimiser along with the TV's HDR Dynamic Tone Mapping. Took the time to test using Fury Road with the Dynamic Tone Mapping on/off and on scenes that have brightness that exceeded the OLED limit (1000 nits), the Optimiser reigned it in to the 1000 nits and brought out more details in those bright areas. It did not affect the rest of the tones whether the rest of the scene was bright or dark. With the Optimiser off, the Dynamic Tone Mapping would darken the entire scene including the shadows to try and achieve this and still not bring as much detail as the Optimiser in the bright area. However with the Optimiser on bring the brights to the set limit (1000 nits in my case) and the Dynamic Tone Mapping set to on, it will map the rest of the scene, lightening as it thinks it's needed giving a brighter picture with more shadow detail since it reads that the scene is within the 1000 nits (so no darkening needed for the highlights) and it does a good job doing so IMO. However, using this feature will likely depart from the original film maker intent. It may brighten when that was not how it was intended for instance. I am using the UB-820. A great player because of this feature IMO. HTH and a BIG thank you for this video. Really helped me get the most out of my setup."

[@RXP91]

Another shout out for MadVR here and the authors future project Envy which will be a stand alone box. The Panasonic UB700 did a good job on my JVC x500 for tone mapping to SDR when it was first out. Frustratingly, Panasonic players cannot bit stream audio from network sources though. Since then I've finally setup MadVR and it does everything the UB9000 does and even more. The author is currently working on generating scene-by-scene live meta-data which is optimal for projection displays.

[@Slyder695]

Will the optimizer work if being passthrough a receiver like the Denon 6500? Or does it need to be wired directly to the tv.

[@arunadayananda3551]

I have a Samsung Q80r. It's rated for 1500 nits but according to Tech Radar it does "1200 cd/m (aka nits), using a 10 per cent HDR window.". Based on this should I use the High Luminance or Super High Luminance setting?

[@nickynockyknackynoo2346]

Very helpful Vincent. Great video. One comment - I found the youtube picture quality less brighter and slightly less enjoyable than other typical videos you've done. I dont know whether thats a function of your Blacklight camera trial. Pete

[@hdtvtest]

Thanks for your feedback... yes we were getting to grips with the Blackmagic camera.

[@segaboy128]

Hdr optimizer is amazing feature! Game consoles need this for hdr games and movies

[@simonmaguire2215]

Im using the HGIG HDR setting when in Game mode on my Lg C9, then setting the peak HDR in the games settings. So much better and realistic rather than washed out games. I started to worry that my c9 was worse than my Old KS8000 Sammy for gamming. But yes more is to be done for HDR in gamming. Some games dont need it.

[@Darthbishop]

Simon Maguire so you disable peak brightness for gaming mode to off for HDR?

[@paulallenMacca]

Thanks for sharing this video Vincent,i have the Panasonic UB820,do you remember the Sony DVP S735 dvd Player i really loved this dvd Player have you ever seen one before.

[@moonunitdaily1445]

I have a Panasonic UB420 and just bought a sony x900h 75". What would you set the hdr optimizer to. I have it at its lowest setting 500nit. Ive seen that the sony can produce 730nit. Should I have it on the next setting up 1000nit? Thanks For any help.

[@richardknott2021]

Excellent tutorial..

[@marcmainguet3556]

Hello Vincent, Thanks for the excellent video. How do you compare the Panasonic ub9000 to the Magnetar 900 and Reavon 200 in 2023? Thans in advance for your input !

[@Squishmallows24]

So would this apply to a tv like the a80j? On the a80j gradation preferred is used by default for HDR. Can the Panasonic HDR optimizer be used with the gradation preferred?

[@FM-qq2kk]

Can you do a video on the proper use of RGY and B buttons on the remote? Thanks

[@asiboy2912]

Best explanation! I'm replacing my Sony X700 to Pana UB420 to have this feature. Thank u

[@nathansnelgrove]

I doubt you'll have time to answer this, but is the HDR Optimizer still useful for 2021 TVs? I just bought an A80J and find it hard to believe that the chip in Panasonic's 2018 / 2019 Blu-ray players would be better at frame-by-frame optimizations than the chip in a 2021 flagship OLED...

[@dajmasta94]

Would also love to know what you think about this! I just bought the same tv!

[@TomlinsonHolman52583]

The Panasonic HDR Optimizer is still the best solution for tone-mapping HDR10 content because it preserves specular highlight detail while APL remains largely unaffected. However, the Sony A80J and A90J tone-mapping implementation is undefeatable, so you would get undesirable double tone-mapping with the HDR Optimizer engaged. Therefore the HDR Optimizer will work best on OLED displays where tone-mapping can be turned off completely.

[@Baconbit67]

This would be a great feature on PS4/Xbox One for videogames...

[@coalregionrider6525]

What are the best settings on this for the Q90R

[@nathanhughes4394]

Hi there, great video. I just got an LG G3, should this setting be off or should it be set to Super High Luminance? Thx

[@yeshuathechrist5213]

I just bought this player and I have a LG C9, do I turn off dynamic tone mapping in my TV ?

[@latinochico]

Yes

[@NOTFOREVERYGIRL]

Finally Vincent. Goin' up next level. I dont think so Lg was good panel choice to show the real magic. Would love to see GZ 2000 plus silver cable from Audio Quest plus UB9000 and then go straight to year 3000. Oppo cant match up Panasonic ,light years dfference,, We all learnin 'at the end.Have a good day everyone.

[@lossratioband]

Is the hdr optmiser utilized during usb playback? And also is there much difference in playback between the 3.0 and 2.0 usb ports? I have the Panasonic dp-ub420p thanks

[@TheNeighborNicky]

So Vincent, is the Panasonic UB9000 a better pick over the Oppo 203?

[@hdtvtest]

Both have their strengths and weaknesses depending on your needs.

[@Pete_or_Peter4Long]

HDTVTest I see a future for you in politics. 😂

[@andrewthegreat1214]

So if I have a 2019 qled tv which is better?

[@pf5658]

There are some who says the Panasonic is the better choice. It’s a matter of choice, IMO. Also, Oppo is no longer so you only have one choice now.

[@harta_1509]

What about if I have JVC N7. Will this help more ? Cause option already has it on jVC ? Thanks

[@timdlr]

I’ve noticed that the UB-9000 has a high luminance projector option and the UB-820 does not, is this significant for people that own an HDR projector, or will the existing settings on the 820 serve?

[@roqueadeleon]

You ever think that HDR isn't worth it LOL - too many factors to consider. I feel like we were already getting the best colors out of the bluray (assuming it was mastered correctly) now with 4K/HDR content there is so much to consider when colors on Bluray looked fine.

[@Dave30867]

Ahhhhh Mr Vincent you good man keep up your hard work ✔👍

[@mehmeta.4813]

Hi Vincent, I have a Sony AF9 and the Panasonic UB820. You can't turn off the tone mapping of the AF9. Should I use the Panasonic HDR Optimiser on top or should I just stay with the Sony tone mapping?

[@joshuastairs9863]

Hi..did u every get an answer for ur question..I have the same one thanks

[@gildragon]

If I have a TV capable of a peak brightness of close to 3,000 nuts would it make any sense to cap the peak brightness to 1500 in this case for the ultra high luminance panel? I think it would be better just to turn this feature off. or just get a player that costs less because it doesn't have this feature? like I have the Vizio p series quantum x which at least advertises a peak brightness of 3,000 nits

[@davidreynolds1732]

Great video Vincent. Would you think it is better to set the player to output SDR BT2020 rather than HDR BT2020 when paired with a projector like the Epson HC5040UB? I keep hearing that SDR BT2020 is better for projectors since they can’t get close to the nits needed for HDR even with the player set to low light output projectors in the settings.

[@mrpmj00]

Hi. I'm using an Epson 2250 projector (2700 lumens, 1080P resolution). When playing a 4k movie, which Panasonic (ub420) setting do you think would look better: 1. Panasonic set to 1080P output (let the Panasonic process the picture) 2. Panasonic set to 4k (4:4:4) output (the Epson would have to downconvert the 4k to 1080P). I would think the first option looks the best.

[@calamitylam]

@HDTVTest So Vincent, you're saying the tone mapping on the Panasonic is better than LGs own tone mapping on their OLED TVs and I should turn dynamic tone mapping off on the tv and just use the hdr optimizer on the ub820 for best picture quality? Thanks.

[@hdtvtest]

Yes.

[@TucoRope2Tight]

@@hdtvtest What about "HDR Tone Mapping" (separate from Dynamic TM) on LG Cx? Some movies look really really dark without it "on".

[@keiththorburn761]

Just bought one of these players after finding this review and blu-rays definitely look fantastic (thanks)! Not sure what to choose on the HDR Optimiser though, I have a Samsung Q90T which reviews mention has a high peak brightness. Can't figure out if that would come under Middle/High Luminance or if it's bright enough to pick Super High Luminance! Anyone know? Thanks again for the great and helpful reviews.

[@usmanisi]

Super High Luminance

[@devonhorne1992]

I've only just discovered this for my player and Q90t. I find it blows out the APL and makes the whole scene much brighter. Not good imo. That's the opposite of what he describes the intent to be. Samsung is famous for juiced up aggressive tone mapping so I feel it's not playing nice. I don't see any additional highlight details. Just brighter APL and over saturated color. So far I prefer it off.

[@rolandrohde]

This would be a killer feature for the AppleTV 4K...and it should be fairly easy to implement... Maybe they will do that at some point. The same would be neat for Smooth Gradation, which could probably easily be implemented on the powerful CPU and GPU in the AppleTV

[@myronhayes187]

It's a Panasonic feature with their Hollywood chip I am unsure if it will come to Apple TV

[@rolandrohde]

@@myronhayes187 So am I, although it should be fairly easy to implement

[@myronhayes187]

@@rolandrohde Its possible

[@zimvader25]

@@myronhayes187 auto tone mapping isnt a Panasonic feature. Their own software that does it, is, but auto tone mapping isnt exclusive to anyone. The new JVC projectors also do auto tone mapping. Which should be better because it's supposedly not limited to just discs, like the pannys. The pannys dont stream 4k/hdr so dont use their HDR optimizer on anything other than discs.

[@MrStatusqwo5]

@@zimvader25 yea but there's a good implementation and bad one,I am sure that Pany is better at this because of the 3D look up table and powerful processor and the close partnership with Hollywood firms.

[@virtualpilgrim8645]

14:36 So, the Panasonic Blu-ray player is like a chunk of succulent beef? Got it...

[@kevonmanuel]

Can you just reduce the contrast on your TV to get the same results? On my Z9D, Brightness and Contrast are Automatically set to 100% for HDR. I dropped it down to 90% and I get more detail.

[@hdtvtest]

Reducing the TV's [Brightness] and [Contrast] will also lower the overall brightness, as well as darken the shadow detail and midtones, which is not advisable.

[@hakinen4000]

Excellent review and explanation Vincent. I currently have a UB900 I wonder if it has the same capability.

[@hdtvtest]

No.

[@hakinen4000]

@@hdtvtest Thanks for the quick answer Vincent. Sad to hear that, I guess I have to look into the ub9000 once I get the C9

[@CrumbandLian]

Brilliant. Thank you Vincent. Mine is sitting in a box waiting to be plugged in. Lots of love from Sprinkles, Chris and Crystal xx

[@benjaminellison1788]

What someone needs to manufacturer is a UHD 4K Blu-ray player with the picture quality of the Panasonic UB9000, the universal player support of the Oppo 203, the DAC of the Oppo 205, the streaming quality of the Apple 4K TV, and the pricetag of the Panasonic UB820. Right now, the Panasonic UB820 is what I'm leaning on getting next. However, I'm hoping there's a 2019 model from someone that adds the all of the above. Of course, I doubt they could for $500. Perhaps something for $1000? At the very least, a $500 version would need dual HDMI outputs with an HDMI input so you could hook up a better streaming option, like either a Roku Ultra (super fast interface and pretty great picture quality) or Apple 4K TV (Dolby Vision and Atmos support) to it for excellent picture processing. Maybe Panasonic could do a refresh and call it the UB830? Preferably, the main apps I would request are Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, KZbin, Vudu, and maybe Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, and Tidal. The rest are kind of redundant. CBS needs to stop being greedy and put their stuff on Hulu. They're no Disney. Besides, you can add CBS on Amazon Prime. Hopefully Disney will do the same. Hulu has add-ons as well.

[@benjaminellison1788]

If streaming companies were smart, they'd help this idea move along quickly. They could all tout it as the best way to watch their content. Much like consoles who sell their hardware cheaper and make more money on the software side. Whomever decides to make this perfect UHD 4K Blu-ray player could work together with all of these companies and properly optimize them as a true content partner. They would then get free advertising every now and again on their services. I'm sure they could work out something positive for both sides. If not, have them give me a call. =) Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos are the biggest buzzwords when it comes to 4K content now. Dolby has always been better at integration/marketing than DTS, even though DTS was superior for many years. Honestly, Auro-3D is arguably better and more complete coverage than either Dolby Atmos or DTS:X, but they're still relatively new so adoption will take awhile. The best thing they can do is make their technology very affordable to adopt until they get very popular. Better to get 1,000 sales of $1 than 10 or even 20 of $50. Volume sales means you're much more popular. 10-20 means you're very exclusive but also most people haven't really heard of you. Auro-3D also needs to get their format into as many commercial theaters as possible. That's why Dolby Atmos is always going to be the most popular, at least in my neck of the woods. I don't know of a single commercial theater with DTS:X or Auro-3D in it yet; at least they don't advertise it.

[@andreassouth1523]

So if you have a 2009 plasma tv like me you must choose Basic Luminance LCD??

[@operamatthew]

it’s a shame the nits cannot be customized to a specific number

[@irokez85]

Ok, so I have 75Q9FN calibrated by Maciej Koper from HDTVPolska, I see in my calibration report that measured nits on tv is 1890,5cd/m2. Super high luminance on panasonic is 1500 nits, also Q9FN has his own eotf curve which overblowns a little bit hdr. Should I be still interested in UB9000's?

[@diresz5365]

I would instantly buy this player, but none of the most common retailer in Germany are able to deliver that player. Even Panasonic cannot predict when new batch will be available.

[@solarsoul1617]

Vincent is the best!

[@tomwebb7091]

The more people argue over whether HDR is the best thing since sliced bread or conversely claim that its the biggest scam in the industry the more i realise the only way to get good HDR is to follow the PQEOTF as accurately as possible. SDR was much easier to make the most of for all manufacturers and HDR is still being processed ever so differently that its crucial to try all TVs to see which implementation best suits your eyes and environment. So far to date for me Panasonic has been the most consistent and accurate.

[@thepiecesfit5049]

Why don't they include this feature on the UB-450? This is silly, that one does include Dolby Vision.

[@steevo124]

Has anyone figured out how to get the TV control buttons on the 9000 remote to work? Specifically with a Sony A9G?

[@isak6626]

@HDTVTest Are you sure that the picture looks more realistic? I've tried this feature myself, and I'm not convinced. If you stare into a spotlight, do you really see that much details in the light, or are you blinded (i.e. are the details blown out?)? I am worried that the HDR optimizer takes away the punch of explosions, lights etc. How would the sane content be represented on a Dolby Pulsar? What are your thoughts?

[@321Mhulsie]

@HDTVTest Does "Dynamic HDR Effect" on a Panasonic OLED essentially do the same thing?